Donor's Gift to Enable Restoration of St. Brigid's Church

By CLAUDIA McDONNELL

St. Brigid's Church in the East Village section of Manhattan, which has been closed since 2001 because of structural damage that made it unsafe for use, will be repaired and reopened as a parish church following a large donation for its restoration, the archdiocese has announced.

A donor who has asked to remain anonymous has given the archdiocese $10 million to restore the church building and an additional $2 million to establish an endowment for the parish, to ensure that St. Brigid's will be able to meet the religious and spiritual needs of those in the community.

The donor also has made a separate gift of $8 million to support St. Brigid's School and other Catholic schools in need.

The donor made the offer to Cardinal Egan after a private meeting at the Cardinal's Residence.

The cardinal said in a statement, "This magnificent gift will make it possible for St. Brigid's Church to be fittingly restored with its significant structural problems properly addressed. The two additional gifts, to create an endowment for the parish and to support the parish school, are a powerful testament to the donor's goodness and understanding. He has my heartfelt gratitude, as I recently had the pleasure of telling him."

St. Brigid's, on Avenue B at Eighth Street, has a long history in the East Village. Opened in 1849, it originally served a large congregation of Irish immigrants. Successive waves of newcomers from other countries became parishioners through the years.

Gradually the building developed structural problems. The rear wall was found to be sinking, causing it to pull away from the building. Consulting engineers retained by the archdiocese around the time it was closed, in June 2001, traced the problem to the demolition more than 20 years earlier of a school building that was attached to the church and had helped to support it.

The archdiocese announced that it would demolish the church building and use the property for other Church-related purposes. But a group of former parishioners, local residents and conservationists protested and formed a group to prevent demolition. Though making no financial commitment to the parish, they initiated a lawsuit that was the first step in a legal dispute.

Preliminary demolition work was begun in 2006 and stained-glass windows were removed, but the group obtained a temporary restraining order that halted the process.

In 2007 a judge ruled that the demolition could go forward. Opponents filed an appeal and were able to halt it again.

Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the archdiocese, said in an interview that the church will be thoroughly evaluated before the renovation begins.

"We'll have a full architectural and construction review of the building to determine precisely what needs to be done to make the building physically sound," he said. "That will be the first step. After we know that the building is safe and sound, we will be able to begin the interior renovation to return it to a fully functioning parish church."

It is not yet known how long the renovation will take, or when the church might reopen. Zwilling noted that Masses continued to be celebrated in the school auditorium until the departure of the Trinitarian Fathers, who had staffed the parish.

"There will need to be discussions with the other parishes in the vicariate about the reopening of St. Brigid's," Zwilling said.

It has not yet been determined how the donor's gift to St. Brigid's School will be used. Dr. Catherine T. Hickey, archdiocesan secretary for education, told CNY, "We are at the discussion stage for now." Renovations will be made, she added, but specific projects have not yet been determined.

"The school building will be brought up to speed to make it an ever more modern educational institution," Dr. Hickey said.

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